Lancing devices are known in the medical health-care products industry for piercing the skin to produce blood for analysis. Typically, a drop of blood for analysis is obtained by launching or driving a lancet into tissue to create a small incision, which generates a small blood droplet on the tissue surface.
Current mechanical lancet launchers are configured to actuate ballistically. The lancet is driven out from the opening in the launcher and when a predetermined penetration depth is reached, a return spring propels the lancet back into the housing with roughly the same velocity as for the inbound. There is no mechanism to control the lancet in flight (inbound or outbound) other than a hard stop for maximum penetration. It is therefore impossible to control lancet velocity for skin properties, let alone skin anatomy differences, in these devices other than a crude depth setting. Known launchers may use stepped offsets in a range of 0.9 mm to 2.3 mm or switchable end caps to attempt to control lancet depth. The thicker the offset, the shallower the resulting penetration. These depth settings are, in actuality, a measurement of the protrusion of the lancet tip from the housing, and do not reflect the actual penetration depth of the lancet because of tenting or bending of skin before or during cutting. Unfortunately, without reliable lancet control during actuation, the pain and other drawbacks associated with using known mechanical lancet launchers discourage patients from following a structured glucose monitoring regime.